Emission rates and composition of particulate matter from a large waste fire in Stockholm, Sweden

Uncontrolled waste burning and accidental waste fires are an important source of emissions into the air. However, there are currently only few field studies providing data on these emissions. In this study, we investigated the emission rates, pollutant dispersion and particle composition for a large waste fire in Stockholm county, Sweden. Our results show that the waste fire, while burning, may have contributed as much as 5 times the mean PM₁₀ emissions from road traffic of the municipality it was located in (ca 95 000 inhabitants), which highlights the potential impact of temporary events such as waste fires on air quality. Gaussian dispersion calculations were used to model the spatial distribution of measured PM₁₀ data, demonstrating its use for assessment of exposure and deposition. Particles impacted by the waste fire were enriched in several potentially toxic metals and metalloids including arsenic, copper, cadmium and, in particular, lead when compared to particles collected after the fire. In addition, they may also pose an increased cancer risk on a per-mass basis compared to the post-fire period due to the larger mass fraction of relevant PAHs.